LED assemblies are well-known and commercially available. Such assemblies are employed in a wide variety of applications, typically for the production of ultraviolet radiation, used, for example, in effecting the curing of photo initiated adhesives and coative compositions.
Several factors play into the fabrication of LED assemblies. One is the control of high current supplied to the LEDs to provide a stable and reliable UV source. Another is the position of the lens to hold the output optic in place. Also, a means to provide a path for electrical conduction is required to supply control for the LED. As the current increases to the LED, the need for a high current, high reliability electrical contact becomes necessary. Additionally, a reflector forming the rays coming from the LED is often required. Furthermore, a cooling system is required to carry the heat away from the assembly. Presently, available, LED assemblies may not adequately offer all of these requirements.
Currently, manufacturers are providing a wide range of LED packages in a variety of forms. These packages range from conventional LED lamps to LEDs that use emitter chips of various sizes. While, many of the known LED assemblies produce a high light output, they produce a very disperse wide angle beam that is difficult to capture for efficient collimiation and beam imaging in practical application, such as in a flashlight. As a result, a great deal of the output energy is lost as leakage out from the side of the LED package.
Additionally, light emitted from the LED assembly is ordinarily not evenly distributed. The shape of the light-emitting chip is projected on the target as a high intensity area. Reflections from the electrodes and walls from unpredictable patterns of light are superimposed on the main beam of light. As a result, undesirable hot spots and shadows appear on the object being illuminated. Accordingly, for any lighting application requiring a substantially even or uniform distribution of light over a predetermined area, a transmitting or partial diffuser must be used to scatter the light emitted from each individual LED assembly so that the hot spots and shadows do not appear on the object being illuminated. But, while a diffuser will eliminate hot spots and shadows, it is important that the “directivity” or geometry of the light beam emitted from an individual LED assembly not be degraded or diminished.
In order to overcome these above-noted disadvantages of known light sources, there is a need to provide an LED curing lamp assembly that has a flexible design, is easy to manufacture and reduces assembly cost.